A University of Manitoba professor with a rare form of cancer often linked with exposure to asbestos has a warning. Patricia Martens wants others to be aware and be safe.

Martens, 62, is a professor of health sciences at the University of Manitoba and is an Order of Canada recipient. She has travelled extensively, researching trends in health and health care.

In February 2013, she was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure.

Martens was told she had nine to 12 months to live. She tried chemotherapy but stopped after doctors found it wasn’t working. Radiation is not possible because of the way the cancer spreads.

She doesn’t know exactly when she was exposed, but this type of cancer can form as long as 50 years after exposure.

Martens believes the asbestos exposure could have happened while studying or working on the U of M campus, but she can’t say for sure, as the cancer can take up to 50 years to show signs.

The Canadian Association of University Teachers believes at least four cases, including Martens’ one, could possibly be linked to asbestos at the University of Manitoba. The institution has many old buildings that used asbestos, said Brenda Austin Smith from the group.

The university is working to eradicate asbestos, to make the buildings safe and sends out emails to staff about the asbestos abatement project, where crews will be working to remove it and to advise people to steer clear, said Austin Smith.

Martens doesn’t plan to sue the university and isn’t bitter. Instead, she plans to make the most of the time she has left, spending time with family and warning others that asbestos is still out there.

The federal and provincial governments have information on strict rules regarding asbestos and its removal.

Martens would like to see it completely banned in Manitoba.

The University of Manitoba issued a statement Friday afternoon.

“It is very unfortunate that a University of Manitoba professor is ill and we feel for Dr. Martens and her family. It is difficult to trace the exact cause or event in such cases, but the University of Manitoba has and will continue to comply with Manitoba Health and Safety legislation to ensure a healthy and safe work environment,” it said in the statement.

A new proposal is currently making its way through the state Legislature to delay and deny justice to veterans and other victims who have been exposed to asbestos. Assembly Bill 19 and its Senate companion, Senate Bill 13, would shield corporations from liability and limit the rights of individuals suffering from diseases related to asbestos exposure.

According to the Wisconsin Military Order of the Purple Heart, AB 19 and SB 13 would be particularly harmful to veterans because mesothelioma, a deadly disease contracted from asbestos exposure, affects veterans at alarming rates.

During World War II, thousands of tons of asbestos were used in ship construction. Sailors were commonly exposed to asbestos that was used in pipe insulation and fireproofing. Members of the Marines and Army were exposed to asbestos products in their barracks, vehicles, and military installations. Korea and Vietnam veterans faced similar exposure to asbestos during their deployments.

When these men and women returned from their service, many were exposed to asbestos again in their civilian jobs as factory workers, maintenance technicians, or shipyard employees. While veterans represent 8 percent of the nation’s population, they make up 30 percent of all known mesothelioma deaths that have occurred in the U.S.

AB 19 and SB 13 are being opposed by many veterans and asbestos victim advocates. During the public testimony on these bills, leaders from the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Wisconsin VFW testified that these bills would unfairly deny justice for veterans suffering from diseases related to asbestos exposure. Unfortunately, despite the concerns raised by veterans and asbestos victims, these bills continue to advance through the Republican-controlled Legislature.

I believe that we should be working to protect veterans and others who have been unknowingly exposed to dangerous working conditions. AB 19 and SB 13 would unfairly tip the scales in favor of large corporations who knowingly exposed veterans and other workers to harmful asbestos products.

MANILA  Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP), the biggest labor federation in the country, re-filed in the House of Representatives a bill banning importation, manufacture, process, use and commercial distribution of deadly asbestos and asbestos-containing products in the country to protect construction workers and communities from developing asbestos-related diseases.

The problem with asbestos is that once workers are exposed to its dust, symptoms of the diseases related to it will manifest 10 to 15 years later. Banning asbestos is the way to go if we want to protect our workers and the general population from first-hand and secondary exposure, said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of ALU-TUCP.

He also serves as program coordinator of the ban asbestos advocacy campaign in the country.

ALU-TUCP partners with Building and Woodworkers International (BWI) in the trade union lobby for approval of the bill.

Filed in two previous congresses, the bill is now known as House Bill 2638.

It was introduced by TUCP party list Rep. Raymond Mendoza.

The ban takes effect one year after the proposed bill is enacted into law, giving government agencies the necessary period of transition.

While it seeks total ban, the proposal allows the health and defense departments to give exemptions on some selected uses of asbestos upon filing of petition for exemption for a specific period as long as these would not injure public health or the environment and if there is no alternative to it.

It also calls on building owners and contractors to demolish buildings containing asbestos then transport and dispose the acummulated materials using standard safety protocols.

Once enacted, violators of the law will be fined P100,000 to P 1 million or meted imprisonment of not less than three months but not more than three years.

It provides for a central registry of workers exposed to asbestos and calls for an establishment of an asbestos-related disease research and treatment network to support detection, prevention, treatment and cure of asbestos-related diseases with emphasis on mesothelioma.

Asbestos dust killed thousands of workers and other members of communities here and around the world several years after they were directly and indirectly exposed to the material. There are thousands more who are currently wasting away from pain and consumed by misery caused by asbestos-related cancers and other diseases due to exposure. Many of them used their retirement pay and pension benefits in medication to treat their asbestos-related diseases. This legislative proposal will put an end to this vicious cycle, Mendoza said.

In the Philippines, an estimated 1.3 million workers in construction and general industry are significantly exposed to asbestos dust every day.

Heaviest exposure happens at removal of asbestos during renovation or demolition of buildings and structures.

Government issued the Chemical Control Order (CCO) for Asbestos in 2000 to regulate importation, use, manufacture, transport and disposal of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials after a screening program in 1992 to 1996 by Lung Center of the Philippines found more than half of 1,542 shipyard workers in Subic Naval Base in Zambales contracted asbestos-related cancers and other diseases amid exposure to asbestos-laden materials.

The ban bill was introduced in the light of poor enforcement of the CCO.

Though it limits use of asbestos on several items and prohibits new uses and application of asbestos, the CCO does not have the teeth to hold violators accountable.

World Health Organization said all forms of asbestos are carcinogenic.

It said about 125 million people in the world are exposed to asbestos at the workplace and some 107,000 people die each year from asbestos-related lung cancer, mesothelioma and asbestosis.(PNA)